Techniques for thickening/stabilizing liquids are industrially very important. For example, mayonnaise and salad dressing, which are emulsions in metastable states, can stably maintain their emulsified states over the long term because their aqueous components are thickened/stabilized. For the thickening/stabilizing techniques, a variety of thickening/stabilizing agents have been developed. For example, alkyl acrylate copolymers are known as thickening/stabilizing agents for aqueous media (aqueous vehicles).
In contrast, 12-hydroxystearic acid is known as a thickening/stabilizing agent for fluid organic substances (such as oily media and other organic substances having fluidity) (Patent Literature (PTL) 1), where 12-hydroxystearic acid is mainly used for waste disposal of edible oils. However, 12-hydroxystearic acid is does not permit adjustment of the degree of gelatinization that it imparts, and can only cause the target component to be brought into a completely solidified state or to remain in a liquid state.